search engine

American  

[surch en-juhn] / ˈsɜrtʃ ˌɛn dʒən /

noun

Digital Technology.

• search engines
  plural

1. a computer program that searches documents, especially on the World Wide Web, for a specified word or words and provides a list of documents in which they are found.

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search engine British  

noun

1. computing a service provided on the internet enabling users to search for items of interest

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search engine Cultural  

1. Web sites or software that search the Internet for documents that contain a key word, phrase, or subject that is specified by the user to the search engine. Each engine has its own method of searching for information.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• search engines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of search engine

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

search engine

Often dubbed "Russia's Google", the company runs the country's most popular search engine, as well as a food-ordering and taxi app used by tens of millions of people.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Often dubbed "Russia's Google", the firm runs the country's most popular search engine, as well as a food-ordering and taxi application used by tens of millions of people across the Russian-speaking world.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

The search engine juggernaut’s ubiquitous presence in American classrooms through Chromebooks and its software partnerships with schools have provided a critical launchpad for its AI tools to reach kids.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

There was the failed search engine, the closed charity, the cheap furniture line and the mortgage company launched right before the housing bubble burst.

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026

He went online, cranked up a search engine, started browsing.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz